Council Tax discounts for disabled people. Does anyone have experience?

easy

I am disabled, and one of the reasons we bought this house was cos it has a downstairs loo, which also has a walk in shower in it, in addition to the upstairs bathroom. This is important because of the days when getting up and down stairs is difficult.

Someone told me a while ago that I may get a council tax discount, and I sent for the forms from my council.
However, the info accompanying the form said the discount would be given only if we had made amendments to the house ourselves.

However, info on the Directgov website says 'an extra room does not need to have been specially built'.

Anyone got any experience of any of this please?

cronus_2

hi easy,
i get a 8% discount due to using a wheelchair to get around in the house if this appliesto you just fill the forms in they then send someone out to see you.
cheers,jeff

TJ27

We got a discount due to disabled adaptations being carried out. Basically they band the house in the bracket below what it normally is. So we're a band F but they charge us at band E rates.

They also backdated it to when the work was done. I said that some of the work had been done about a year ago, which was the truth, and they backdated the discount by a year.

easy

But TJ27 the point of my question was exactly that.

I didn't get adaptations done, but we bought the house because it already had the downstairs loo and shower. The DirectGov site suggests you don't have to have had adaptaions specially done, just that facilities ARE THERE for the use of the disabled occupant. I was hoping to find someone who got the discount without having done the adaptations themselves.

Cronus, I'm not a wheelchair user at the moment, but do have significant mobility problems.

lin473

In my area I think you have to be a wheelchair user and need downstairs bathroom and bedroom.
At least that is what we have and qualify for D band instead of E as a result.
It may be that the rules are different according to what council you are dealing with ,so perhaps it would be best to apply and see what happens.

A_Nice_Englishman

Have you seen the Department for Communities and Local Government leaflet "Council Tax - AGuide to your Bill" and in particular section 18?

http://www.local.odpm.gov.uk/finance/ctax/ctaxbillguide.pdf

18. What is the reduction for disabilities scheme?

Your bill may be reduced if your home has certain
features which are essential, or of major importance, to
the well-being of a person with a disability, whether an
adult or child, who is resident in the dwelling. These
features are:

• an additional bathroom or kitchen required for the use of the person with the disability;
• any other room (except a toilet) which is predominantly used by the disabled person;

• extra space inside the dwelling to allow for the use of
a wheelchair.

To qualify for a reduction, the extra room need not be
specially built, and can be an existing room. It must
however be essential or of major importance to the wellbeing
of the person with the disability. So, simply
rearranging rooms (for example, having a bedroom on
the ground floor rather than the first floor) will not make
your home eligible for a reduction unless the link between
its use and the person’s disability is sufficiently strong.
The scheme is designed to help disabled people who live
in larger houses than they would have needed if they
were not disabled or where the living area for normal use
has been reduced. The scheme is therefore not available
generally to all disabled people.

19. By how much will my bill be reduced?

So that households do not face higher council tax bills
than would otherwise be the case because of the special
needs of a person with a disability, there is a one band
reduction in their bills. If your home is eligible, your bill will
be reduced to that of a property in the valuation band
immediately below the band shown on the valuation list.
For example, if your home is in band D, your bill will be
reduced to that for a band C dwelling. This will not,
however, affect the value of your home or its banding on
the valuation list. In this example, it would still be shown
as band D on the valuation list.

If your home is in band A, there is not a lower band your
dwelling can be reduced to. However, you will receive a
reduction which will be the same in cash terms as the
reductions for homes in bands B, C and D.